No More Secrets
by Trixxie Lovington
Summary: Harley Woodley has a dark past that involves Daryl Dixon and her ten year old child Bo. After Daryl and she are reunited they begin their lives together in a world full of walkers. However, it doesn't end there. As she reveals her past to those she trusts most, including Merle, other secrets unfold that even she was completely unaware of.
1. Introduction

My name is Harley Woodley, and I'm here to tell you a short story. A story I never got to tell the only man I've ever loved. You know who it was? Strangely, it was Daryl Dixon. He was just another member of a small biker gang, and a regular at the strip club I worked at called "The Aphrodites." It may sound like a fancy strip club—fancy like Caesar's Palace-, but it was far from it.

One night Daryl decided to ask me to take him to a private room. Nothing different for me except for the fact that he was the only sexy, older man who asked me for a private dance. I was 17, but I lied about my age so I could have a job with a decent income. I wasn't about to struggle because of my dad. No, he'd get some sick satisfaction from it. My dad kicked me out so that his heroin girlfriend and her 6 kids could move in. May I say that they were all by 6 different men?

When I met Daryl, I did not expect more than great eye candy that I was able to please. I especially didn't expect things to go so smoothly.


	2. Chapter 1: It Never Ends

I woke up from a pleasant dream—again. Only to remember the world we live in, and cry—again. I turned over to look at my handsome, little seven year old son Bo. I couldn't believe how tall he was for his age. I adored his olive toned skin, dark brown hair, and angelic blue-green eyes; adoring characteristics he didn't inherit from me. I was a short, raven haired, and sun kissed girl with chocolate brown eyes.

Cute, little moments like that made me feel guilty for even wishing I got an abortion so that he would never have to suffer in this catastrophic world. Most of the time, for my own selfish reasons, I'm glad he's here.

He's never met his father. Mostly my fault, but I've only meant well. It doesn't even matter if one day he'll understand because half of the population—including…never mind.

My friend Ian is helping us. He's saved our lives countless times, fed us, and protected us. For the past year. I know Bo has grown to love Ian, but I can't let myself let Bo call him "Dad." It just doesn't feel right.

…

Ian always came back from an early morning scavenging trip in the houses nearby after I've woke up. However, this morning was different. There was a knock on the door.

Is it all over?

I opened the front door to have a gun in my face. I froze.

"Where's the kid?"

"You're not getting to my baby," I answered sternly.

"Listen—"I finally saw the face behind the barrel. It was a man with a very short beard and grown out hair. He held the stance of a cop. "If you don't show me the kid, your man Ian's head will get blown off."

A rough looking man scoots Ian over from behind him while holding a knife to his throat.

Should I care? Should I trust them? I don't know if I can take—

"He's in his bedroom near the back of the house. Asleep."

"Take me to it," he grabbed my arm with the gun still to my head and I lead him to Bo's room.

"Momma?"

The man quickly let me ago and put away his pistol.

"Who's that man, Momma?"

"He's a—we just met and I was going to fix him breakfast."

"What's your name?" Bo asked; innocent as could be.

"My name's Rick," the man replied. "What's yours?"

"My name is Bo. I'm 7!" Bo just had his birthday, and was excited to share his enthusiasm with a new person.

"Becoming a fine young man ain't cha?" Rick conversed with Bo as if he had his own child. I still wasn't at ease; nowhere near there.

"Ready to go, Rick?" a young, Korean man asked.


	3. Chapter 2: The Merge

After Rick accepted Bo, Ian, and I into the prison, I met his wife and son; Lori and Carl.

"Wow! You look ready to pop!" I said.

"Yep," she smiled, half-heartedly.

"This is my son Bo! I'm sure him and Carl will get along great!"

"Yeah!" Carl and Bo said in unison.

Rick interceded with a grin, "I think you and Bo will fit in well here."

"What about me?" Ian asked nervously.

Rick replied, "Not gonna lie. I'm gonna keep my eye on you, but so far so good."

"I'll take that," Ian smiled nervously.

We entered the C block of the prison where we met several new people.

I introduced myself to the blonde, "Hey, my name is Harley."

The girl replied with a small, innocent voice, "Hi, I'm Beth, and this is my sister Maggie."

Maggie seemed suspecting of me, "Where are you from?"

"The outskirts of Atlanta in a little suburban neighborhood."

As we continued to get to know each other, a sexy rough looking man came in.

He started to ask, "Who's…this?"

"Daryl?!" I gasped as he looked dead into my eyes. I ran towards him to hug him tightly, and he hugged me back.

…

We made love after everyone else went to sleep. Bo had a little sleepover in Carl's cell. We went to the alley between the two wings of the prison to have some private fun.

Afterwards, we laid underneath a blanket with my head on his bare chest.

"Where were you, Daryl?" I whispered.

"What the hell you talking about?"

"You know…after you and Merle were going to and 'back'. At least, I thought you were coming back."

"Things just happened. Time slipped away."

"Ok." I wasn't completely satisfied with that answer, but knowing Daryl I'll take what I can get.

…

"I think you should introduce Bo to his dad," Glenn, the Korean guy, advised me.

"What? What are you talking about?" I wasn't quite comfortable sharing that information with the strangers yet.

"You know what I'm talking about. I think everybody does."

"Has everybody been talking about us?!"

"Sh! No, but he resembles…Daryl a lot."

I stared at him; dumbfounded. "Uh-um…Thanks, Glenn. I know you mean well."

He grinned and slightly blushed. "To tell you the truth…I'm terrible with secrets."

I knew what this meant. I planned on telling Daryl soon, but I've always been the procrastinator.

Perhaps this will be the motivation I need to tell Daryl. Although, with Bo being seven years old, maybe Daryl will figure it out himself. Actually…no, that's not right.

"I'm sorry, Harley! I just-I'm just a bad liar, an-"

"Hey, hey, hey! It's no biggie, I promise. I was just thinking of a way to tell him"

"Oh…well, um, I would just tell him in private. Most importantly, not in front of Bo."

"Well, Glenn, I'd think you'd done this before!" I teased.

He chuckled. "Yeah, sure!" he said sarcastically.

"Where's Bo, anyways?"


	4. Chapter 3: Unexpected

"Bo?!" I called out in C Block.

It was too quiet, and I bumped into Beth.

"Sorry!" she quickly apologized.

"That's okay! Do you know where Bo is?"

"I think Carl and him are playing outside? Ian told them to go outside earlier."

I started to rush outside because I didn't trust two young boys being on their own. I ran outside to see the two had somehow gotten all the way to the outer layer of the fence. Suddenly, a walker broke through the fence, lusting for their flesh.

"BO! CARL!" I had a dagger, and I took off full fledge. "RUN, BOYS! RUN!"

They were far enough away that their "what's" were faint. But Carl grabbed him and they started to run. Out of nowhere, Daryl ran past them and stabs the walker in the brain. I stopped; partly shocked, partly relieved. Bo ran to me as quickly as he could. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and asked, "Who is that?"

I hugged him back, and replied, "Someone you need to meet, baby."


	5. Chapter 4: Unexpected

"Bo?!" I called out in C Block.

It was too quiet, and I bumped into Beth.

"Sorry!" she quickly apologized.

"That's okay! Do you know where Bo is?"

"I think Carl and him are playing outside? Ian told them to go outside earlier."

I started to rush outside because I didn't trust two young boys being on their own. I ran outside to see the two had somehow gotten all the way to the outer layer of the fence. Suddenly, a walker broke through the fence, lusting for their flesh.

"BO! CARL!" I had a dagger, and I took off full fledge. "RUN, BOYS! RUN!"

They were far enough away that their "what's" were faint. But Carl grabbed him and they started to run. Out of nowhere, Daryl ran past them and stabs the walker in the brain. I stopped; partly shocked, partly relieved. Bo ran to me as quickly as he could. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and asked, "Who is that?"

I hugged him back, and replied, "Someone you need to meet, baby."


	6. Chapter 5: A Perfect Time

"Ya know I love you, right?" Daryl said, hovering over me in his bed. I practically lived with him for about a year in his old camper in the woods.

"I know you do," I said, teasingly. "And I love you."

"Are you gonna make me breakfast?"

"Only if we go back to my place so I can use an actual stove."

"Let me take a hit first."

"Do you really need to do that hard shit? Why not some Mary Jane?"

"Ain't nothing like the blue, baby."

"Seriously, though. That shit ain't right. Besides, I'd like to keep my teeth."

"Shut up."

Daryl and I always had weird senses of humor. I knew what he mean, when he meant it; vice versa.

After he was done and I got dressed, we got on his chopper and went back to my house. It was a pretty decent neighborhood; what a sober stripper could afford. Believe it or not, Daryl's place was a getaway for me. A place where I wasn't judged and materials didn't matter; only the ones necessary for survival. It's one fo the reasons I fell in love with him.

I cooked us biscuits and gravy with sausage links. Daryl, with the manners he has, slurped up his breakfast like a savage.

"Do you ever wash your hands?" I asked as he licked his fingers clean.

"What does that matter?"

"Okay" is all I said. Sometimes I just had to laugh at things like that.

What matters to most people, doesn't matter to Daryl.


	7. Chapter 6: Vinegar & Honey

"Your saying that he's my…my son?"

"Yeah, Daryl."

"I wish I could blame you for not letting me know, but I lived in the woods with Merle for so long…Shit." He rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"I'm so sorry, I meant to—"

"Don't be fucking sorry. It's no one's fault, but mine. I should've came back like I promised."

"Well…now that we're here together, by some miracle, I think you should meet your son."

"Does he—"

"He doesn't know it's you, but he knows about you. I've said nothing, but good things about you."

"Fuckin'—"He seemed frustrated, and stressed out.

"What? I thought that was a good thing."

"Now he has me on this pedestal that I'm bound to crumble."

"Stop it! You don't get it. Bo's just like you. He believes it when he sees it."

He sighed out of relief, but I'm sure he's somewhat skeptical at the very least.

Bo and I went to my cell to talk. I told Daryl to meet us there.

"Sit down, honey," I directed as I patted the empty space next to me on the mattress.

"What is it, Momma?"

"You know how you've always wanted to know and meet your dad? And how I promised you I'd find him one day?"

"Did you find him?!"

I smiled real big. "Actually, he kind of found us."

"Is it Rick? Is Carl my brother?!" he started shaking with excitement. "But, I thought my dad's name was Daryl?"

I heard a chuckle outside the cell; he came in perfect timing. I assured him, "No, Bo. It ain't Rick!"

Right as I was saying that, Daryl walked in.

"Is this the man, Momma? The one who saved me and Carl today?" he asked, still enthusiastic.

"Yeah, honey! His name is Daryl Dixon, but you can—"

"Call me Pa, son," Daryl said with such love in his voice it melted my heart. I got up so he could sit next to his son.

I felt such a huge weight off my shoulders. I decided to go to the small breakroom just down the hall.

"You're not gonna be with him are you?"

I turned to Ian, and asked, "What?"

"You know what I fucking mean, whore."

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"

He then violently pushed me up against the wall. We've barely had a past together. A past that consisted of absolutely no sex, but plenty of flirting. This wasn't about love or obsession. This was about ownership and power.

"You gon' talk to me like a fuckin' idiot?!"

"Get off me!"

"NO! I don't have to BITCH!" He then spit a loogie in my face.

"You nasty son of a bitch!" I screamed, "GET OF—"

All of a sudden, Ian was off of me, but Daryl was on the floor with him. Beating. The. Shit. Out. Of. Him.

After what seemed like an hour, Daryl got off of him and held onto me. "You okay, babe?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Ian's face was almost unrecognizable.

No more reasons to keep me as your property. I thought with a smirk.

"If I ever see your face around her or Bo again, I'll knock your skull in! Fucking understand?!"

Ian groaned in pain. Daryl kicked him right in the nuts. We then went back to my cell where Bo and Daryl talked and played for the rest of the day.


	8. Chapter 7: Uncle Merle

"Well, hello there, girlie. Where have you been?" Merle eyes me up and down.

"I'm fine, Merle." I never quite got over his immense consideration and respect towards others.

"Heard you got knocked up the last time Daryl mounted ya."

"Children, Merle!" Carol scolded.

Merle scoffed, and rolled his eyes. I went back to my cell, but he followed.

"Looking good for an ex-stripper who was like a clockwork with meth," Merle said whilst leaning on the doorframe.

"What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes at him as I scrounged through my one and only bag.

"Oh, don't act all modest! None of those other girls had anything going for them…I just figured you'd look more drug-worn."

"I tried it once and I fucking hated it. I don't even see how you were able to do it so often."

He laughed obnoxiously. "Ooh! This girl knows how to play with words."

"Some nights my best friend was Mary-Jane; couldn't stand Crystal. Actually, I preferred cold beer and a pizza on a Friday night, baby."

There was a moment of silence as we relished in nostalgia of the world we once knew. I never thought I would've missed my job, and my life. I couldn't speak for Merle however.

"Leave my old lady alone, Merle," Daryl said annoyed too.

"C'mon, little brother! Just catching up with her!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"I'm sorry about Merle announcing your privacy like that." Carol apologized.

"It's not your fault. I'd figure my past would come up anyways." I gave her a friendly grin.

"I know it ain't, but I'm sure you didn't want everyone to know. I mean, it's personal, and—like you said—in the past."

"Seriously, don't worry 'bout it! I'm not ashamed of being…or that I was a stripper at all. I had to."

"Really?! I mean, what do you mean you 'had to'?"

"It's not that long of a story so…I guess I'll just tell you."


	9. Chapter 8: Pain & Poverty

"Alright, Harley," I hear my dad say from the living room as soon as I walk through the front door.

"What did I do now?"

It was almost four in the afternoon, but the house felt dark and dreary. With my dad being a disgusting druggie, he always had the windows covered with foil or garbage bags.

"Nothing really," he replied. After I put my books and school bag in my room. I go into the living room. The only sources of light are the TV and Dad's cigarette. I sit down on the plastic covered sofa.

"So what's up?" I ask.

"My girlfriend Lucille and her kids are moving in."

"Seriously, Dad? Is she supposed to replace Mom? Or your former wife…Lucille? And in this house?!"

"No shit! In this fucking tiny ass house," he mocked me.

"And there's only two bedrooms so are we getting sleeping bags, air beds…and who am I sharing my queen size with?"

"That's the thing. You're moving you and your fucking shit outta here by seven days from now."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "But I have nowhere to go! I still have a month of high school left!"

"Do you seriously think I give a fucking shit?! Man, I can't wait for your ass to be out of this fucking house."

My eyes started to well up with tears. I pleaded with my father to give me until graduation. I continued with my voice lowered, "I have no money…no one to turn to...all I have is my car that is going to die for good any day, and my education. Just….please let me have a chance to live an okay life."

"It's done, bitch. Lucille and her kids are moving in. By the way, they are moving in in the next couple of days so you'll be sleeping on the couch, backyard, I don't give a shit." He chuckled.

I slowly walked out the front door, but before I shut it I looked at my dad's most precious item. The one item that is even more near and dear to him. The only item I can look at in the house with happiness from my childhood when my father used to love me and play with me outside. Before my mom's head and upper torso were shred to pieces by farm equipment at her job, we used to play baseball. He still kept it for some reason. He's been so mentally blurred from heavy drinking for years that I highly doubt it's a reminder of a memory he can't even remember.


End file.
